From a person sitting in darkness

With a nod toward the grounding inspiration of Mark Twain and James Baldwin in its opening epigraphs, this collection of free and formal verse - turning on multiple axes of race, religion, history, politics, and social issues - soars in exploration of the dark, troublesome visions of America. Gerald Barrax, "a black poet who makes familiar black attitudes agonizingly fresh" (Library Journal), speaks with ire and passion of those robbed - and those who rob them - of hope, of sight, of faith, of life.

But Barrax also croons - about the natural world and its creatures, about music, and about human love and relationships. One hundred four poems in all, eighteen penned since his last book. From a Person Sitting in Darkness showcases Barrax's gifts for arresting imagery and compression, crystalline diction and dichotomy, narrative force, and the leavening touches of humor and irony. This collection is the essence of a lyrical, sensual, unpredictable work.